‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la!

 

Over the Christmas period, some strange things can start to happen. Some are funny and some are wildly inconvenient, and as a result, insurance brokers start seeing some unusual claims coming through.

 

Here are five of the craziest we’ve ever heard about.

 

Christmas Mince Pies and One Very Mischievous Dog

One turned back, one hungry pooch and 12 mince pies are apparently a disastrous recipe. An unfortunate dog owner found this out the hard way when her dog not only scoffed 12 mince pies, he also consumed the foil and plastic wrapping as well. The dog then proceeded to throw up in her car on the way to the vet. Luckily, her dog eventually passed the packaging and no long-term harm was done – except for the pricey vet bill and insurance claim.

 

Candles and Christmas Trees Are Not a Good Match

Once upon a time, Christians used to decorate their Christmas trees with candles as a way of worship. Nowadays, most people wouldn’t even consider placing an open flame anywhere near their trees and instead opt for twinkling fairy lights.

 

However, it seems one man didn’t get the memo. He decided to attach lit candles to his tree only to then leave the room. Unsurprisingly the tree caught fire and ended up burning his house down. Amazingly, the insurance company paid up to the sum of 330,000 pounds (roughly the equivalent of $580,000).

 

Christmas and Destroyed TVs

It seems disaster has a funny way of following TVs around over the festive period, with countless TV-related claims being made each year.

 

For instance, over in the UK two youngsters got so excited about their new Nintendo Wii that they accidentally threw the handset into their equally new plasma-screen TV. The family then had to make a claim to the tune of a 1,000 pounds to fund a replacement.

 

A Rogue Christmas Tree

After doing his Christmas shopping, an Indiana man over in the states got a nasty surprise when the Christmas tree tied to the roof of the car in front of him came loose and smashed through his front windscreen.

 

The culpable driver sped off, but the man’s windscreen was covered by his insurance, and the police let him take home the rogue tree. Despite the inconvenience, it’s hard to turn down a free Christmas tree.

 

Santa’s That Take Instead of Giving

Not surprisingly, the festive season marks a month of rich pickings for thieves. Over the month of December and the beginning of the New Year, theft-related claims skyrocket, as people’s homes are loaded up with lots of extra goodies.

 

However, thieves aren’t the only ones causing stress during this normally happy time of year, as insurers also start to see unusual claims coming through that they pretty much never see over the course of the year. A lot of these usually have something to do with Christmas lights, trees, and household accidents when people get a little crazy over the silly season.

 

As the festive season gets closer, make sure you check in with your insurance broker to ensure your home and contents insurance policy is up-to-date. With a strong insurance policy protecting your home, Christmas presents, car and family, you can soak up the Yuletide joy without worrying about your assets.

 

Contact the team at Sarina Insurance for more information.

Many believe that concrete and steel will survive a fire, but this picture proves otherwise. The steel beams that support the roof have buckled in the heat allowing the walls to fall inward. The slab will also have to be demolished and re-laid and it could be 6 months or longer before the tenants can return.

In this circumstance, the business interruption option available as part of a business insurance package would replace the income of the tenant while repairs are in progress.

Statistics tell us that 2 out of 3 businesses who suffer such damage either fail to reopen, or close within 12 months of reopening. The main cause of failure is cited as lack of cash flow.

Unfortunately this business interruption option is often refused by tenants.